When is the last time you repotted them? What type of soil/medium are you using? African violets should be repotted regularly, which means once, or even twice a year for standards, more often for minis in small containers. Store bought potting mix is usually too dense - even if it says it's for African violets specifically. You'll probably want to add some perlite or vermiculite to make it 'fluffier' - the ratio you use depends a lot on your growing conditions (heat and humidity) and your watering regime. - If you find you water them inconsistently, maybe read up on oyama pots or wick watering and see if either would work for you (they require a lighter mix than 'manual' watering). Having said that, the more inorganic matter you add to your potting medium, the more you will need to fertilize. Look into a balanced fertilizer that does not contain urea nitrogen. Rachel's reflections is a great resource for African violet care information. Good luck! Karin Here is a link that might be useful: Rachel's Reflections

Hi Judy, From Lyndon Lyon's, or LLG, I get consistently large plants, often in bloom, in 2 1/2 in square pots in a good potting mix that does not have to be changed for at least six months. They come with plastic stakes that have the plant name printed on them so I can move them when I repot. The plants grow rapidly and do not sucker. The company has excellent customer service and ships promptly. For me, it is worth it to pay slightly more to get consistently larger, premium quality plants. For all the trouble of ordering live plant material across country, I want to get the best I can for my money. They have good quality control and accurately label the plants. They are my first choice. I only go elsewhere if there is something I want that they don't carry. They also keep their web catalogue updated, so if they are out of stock, they won't list the item. So, no surprises and no substitutions. They usually have enough of a particular type to choose from. For example, they will offer five different reds or five different whites or more. Their own hybrids are exceptional, vigorous and strong. I primarily raise Lyon 's own hybrids. They also have a wide selection of many other hybridizers. They are a large enough company to be able to introduce new hybridizers. They first opened up the Russian market and offer a wide range. They seem to pick the best choices of other hybridizers, so if they offer a plant , I feel it has been preselected for good performance. If something is new in the plant world, chances are they developed it. They are consistent in what they offer, it is usually possible to find the same plant year after year, plus new ones. I like to be a loyal customer and give them my business. They have been at this for sixty years, I appreciate they are still in this business. I feel they are excellent, so why not do business with them? When I place an order with them, I already know what to expect, so I can safely order a dozen. But they will accept an order of any size. When I want to try out a new grower, I place a small order. Usually, about four. Joanne This post was edited by fortyseven on Tue, Aug 12, 14 at 10:56

Here's a page that I hand out when I speak to clubs. Hope it helps. Some basic African violet care 1. African violets are very much like human beings. They prefer growing in similar conditions. The plants prefer temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity of approximately 50%. They enjoy bright indirect light as opposed to direct sunlight. 2. African violets grow well in light airy soil less mixes. The mix should be one that allows the roots to penetrate to the edge of the pot. It should not be so heavy that it retains so much water to make the mix soggy. More African violets are killed by over watering than any other method. A simple recipe that many growers use is equal parts of peat moss (or potting soil without any fertilizer), coarse vermiculite and coarse perlite. A handful of horticultural charcoal may be added to sweeten the mix if desired. 3. Light plays an important part in violet culture. Plants need between 10 and 12 hours of indirect light a day. This may be obtained either naturally or by artificial means. East or west exposures are good. Northern windows frequently are not strong enough but can be adequate if some artificial light is added to extend the light period. Southern exposures are much too hot in the summer and tend to burn leaves unless the are shaded by a sheer curtain or dappled light from an outside source. Fluorescent lights are ideal. Plants should be approximately 12 inches from the top of their crown to the light bulbs. Cool white, Gro Lux, Gro Lux WS, Vari Lux and combinations of cool and warm bulbs make plants grow beautifully 4. African violets need a constant source of food since they are potted in a soil less mixture that has little or no nutrient value. Most growers keep their plants on a constant feed system. They fertilize every time they water with a dilute mixture of fertilizer usually about half the manufacturer recommendation. The fertilizers use a three number system. The first number is for nitrogen, which promotes leaf and plant growth. Second is phosphorous which helps promote bloom and the final number is potassium which is included for general health. 5. Standard size violets should be repotted every 9 months to a year while semis and minis every 4 to 6 months. The rule of thumb for pot size is to go up a size when the crown of the plant is more than three times the size of the rim of the pot. So if the crown is 9 inches across it can go into a 3-inch pot. A large 18-inch plant can be put into a 6-inch pot. Most minis and semis do best in 2 to 2 inch pots. Since violets have shallow root systems, squat pot or azalea pots are ideal. 6. There are some diseases that can give a grower problems so it is always advisable when bringing a new plant into your home to ISOLATE the plant for at least a month before putting it with any of your other plants. Some of the problems that can occur are thrips, soil and foliar mealy bugs, cyclamen mites and powdery mildew. Each problem has its own cure from spraying to a systemic. Fred in NJ

Letting your water sit for 24 hours will eliminate CHLORINE in your water, ... but not CHLORAMINE. CHLORAMINE is a CHLORINE derivative which stays in the water for a much longer time, so it's much more ecnomical for water processing uses. Unfortunately, CHLORAMINE is fatal to African Violets, though other plants tolerate it very well. If you have CHLORAMINE, you cannot use your city-povided water supply to water your violets. You must find another source of CHLORAMINE-FREE water. I only found out 2 years ago or so that my water provider has been using CHLORAMINE since 1959. I found out about the CHLORAMINE issue after going through a summer where I was losing a plant or two a week, where the leaves were simply softening and falling off like you describe. Not all of my AV's seemed to be affected, but I lost some formerly very nice plants. After finding that the answer to my problem might be CHLORAMINE in my water supply, I switched to jugged SPRING WATER from my grocer ... and I haven't looked back since. My violets are currently doing better than they ever have. I used to get backups (2 or more) of plants that I really liked, ... because I knew that I had a strong chance of losing just the one. But, of course, if a variety of African Violet is susceptible to CHLORAMINE, ... ALL of the plants of that variety will ultimately fail. I am just now beginning to try some plants again that I thought that I just couldn't grow, to see if I can grow them successfully with spring water. To date, I am having fantastic success. As your stepmom mentioned, I fill about (8) gallon jugs with spring water from a GLACIER dispensary at my local grocer for $.45/gallon. For awhile it was a quarter a gallon, but demand have risen, I guess. For you, as a beginner with just a few plants, a gallon of water will last quite a while. So, take heart, ... you may not be able to save your Mac, ... but you can try it again once the CHLORAMINE issue is off of the table. As for new plants, might I suggest that you take a look at what ebay seller PJ's Violets has to offer. I have purchased from Lyndon Lyons, Violet Barn, PJ's, and other outlets, and you can get your largest (most mature) plants from PJ's for about the same money as you would spend at Lyons or Violet Barn. Violet Barn's plants are typically quite small, though I purchase starter plants from Lyons every year. I've included a link to PJ's ebay web-page below ... http://www.ebay.com/sch/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from=&_ssn=pjsviolets&_sop=16 For less expensive (and a bit smaller) violets, take a look at Jack's Violets ebay page at the following link ... http://www.ebay.com/sch/jacksviolets/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_ipg=&_from= P.S. Both of these sellers sells their plants as "Buy Now" at the listed price, rather than have you go through the auction. I've gotten nice plants from both sellers ...